County Teacher of the Year winners to be announced

    AUGUSTA — First Lady Ann LePage will help announce the top teacher from each Maine county at a Statehouse ceremony Thursday, May 7 at 2 p.m.
    Along with the First Lady, Maine’s Acting Education Commissioner Tom Desjardin, 2015 Teacher of the Year and Skowhegan Area Middle School special educator Jennifer Dorman, Educate Maine Executive Director Ed Cervone and State Board of Education member Alan Burton will be on hand to honor the 2015 County Teacher of the Year winners, who were chosen from a field of more than 300 nominees.

    From those recognized Thursday, three state finalists and the 2016 Maine Teacher of the Year will be selected and named by the state’s Education Commissioner at a surprise all-school assembly this fall.
    Maine’s Teacher of the Year serves as an advocate for teachers, students and the efforts underway in Maine’s public schools to prepare students for success in college, career and civic life. To be considered, an educator must demonstrate a commitment to excellence and to nurturing the achievement of all students, no matter their challenges.
    Maine Teacher of the Year is a program of the Maine Department of Education, administered by Educate Maine, a business-led organization working to ensure Maine’s students and workers are the best educated and highly skilled in the world.
    Funding for the program is generously provided by Hannaford, Geiger, Bangor Savings Bank and Unum with support from the State Board of Education and the Maine State Teacher of the Year Association.
    For more information, visit www.maine.gov/doe/toy/.